Everyday Webmaster Tools - Plus 171 Free Website Templates
A common question asked in forums is where to get certain tools, either for free or at a low cost. Just recently a group of tools that has actually been around for quite a while fell in my lap. Yes, this has been mentioned before, but frankly needs a bit more exposure for everyone to appreciate what all is available there.
Frankly, not many days go by without more than one of these getting used on my blogs, and sites. Look carefully at what is available here, and you will be impressed at what you find.
A case in point are the 171 Website Templates available in the suite of tools. There are also almost three times as many Website Templates available for a meager $19.95/year.
The banner below rotates, but will always take you to the entire Bravenet Suite of tools.
Tell me what you think in the comments section below.
The SitePal product is exceptionally cool. Am planning a couple of projects where it should work quite well. If you really don't think that any of this would be useful to you, then you are definitely in the minority.
Try it out!
After all it is Free!!
Floyd Bogart
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Everyday Webmaster Tools - Plus 171 Free Website Templates
Saturday, November 10, 2007
How To Get Targeted Traffic To Your Site Or Blog
How To Get Targeted Traffic To Your Site Or Blog
Directly or indirectly, this is perhaps the most common topic discussed in any forum or blog about making money online. This is as it should be, as it is the most important activity we engage in, other than content generation.
One of the forums I frequent had an excellent post about this with a great list of resources (free for the most part) that we should all be utilizing. If you take the time (and make no mistake, this will take quite a bit of time) you will see targeted traffic coming to your site, blog or forum.
So without further ado, here is the list:
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Don't forget to submit your MLM business blog (if you have one) to all the Blog Search engines. This will get your blog information out much more quickly and help generate traffic to your site!
Some will get you in right away and others will take time. Just like a regular search engine- they will come by and "crawl" your blog periodically.
Here's a few you can check out:
http://www.blogsearchengine.com/
http://www.daypop.com
http://www.blogcatalog.com
http://www.feedster.com
http://www.icerocket.com
http://www.bloogz.com
http://www.blogstreet.com
http://www.blogwise.com
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Here's an interesting Blog (lots of those cropping up now adays)....
http://mlmlaw.blogspot.com/
Legal news, opinions and analysis about MLM, pyramid schemes, ponzi schemes and other suspect investment "opportunities."
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Blogs seem to be all the rage...and a very useful tool for networking too.
You can learn more about blogs and make some new friends in this online community devoted to blogging:
http://blog-network.ryze.com/
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This site is just 1 source for creating your own blog...sponsored through Google:
http://www.blogger.com/start
Google's Blogger service also has a function that alot of people haven't yet discovered at http://www.AudioBlogger.com
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Here's another Ping service http://www.pingoat.com. Comes highly recommended from the Business Blogger Network on Ryze. I used to use Pingomatic but had some speed and downtime issues with it. Pingoat appears much faster, never down, and has a lot more places it pings....including international blog directories. Pretty cool.
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There's 2 networks on http://www.Ryze.com (social/business networking community) called "Blogging For Business" and "Blogs and Bloggers" which have tons of great information....discussions and links for resources.
http://blogbrandz-network.ryze.com/
http://blog-network.ryze.com/
Join Ryze (it's free) and add these networks to your "list". Hope that helps some more folks.
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My friend Priya Shah wrote a whitepaper called "Boost Your Search Engine Visibility With Blogs And RSS" for her new SEO firm.
You can send for it here: http://www.seoandmore.com/blogs-rss/
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You can find a bunch of resources about blogging, bloging books, and tutorials at Blog Maniac: http://www.blog-maniac.com/
http://www.blogbrandz.com/ has articles and such with information you should find useful for your own business blogging.
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I recently came across this "Weblog Resources FAQ" and thought it'd be useful......
http://www.robotwisdom.com/weblogs/
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My friend Julieanne found this resource. Good idea to include the link here for everyone: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/06/how-to-make-your-millions-through-blogging/
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I just ran across this neat little tool today while doing some research for a spring cleaning of my blogs. It will automatically generate the html for RSS feed buttons (chicklets) you can then put on your blog to help visitors subscribe to your article feed.
Covers a lot of possible feed and subscribtion sources giving you and your readers lots of choices. Pretty cool...very fast...and really easy to use. Just fill in a couple boxes...click.... than cut & paste the html generated into your blog template.
http://www.toprankresults.com/tools/button-maker.php
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Here's a link to a smorgasbord of blog resources ..... covers blog hosting, open source, software, comments and tracking, and templates. Lots to play with:
http://www.geekphilosopher.com/MainPage/blogLinksTools.htm
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My friends Ben Fitts and Jack Spirko of MarketingIce offer the below tip on RSS feeds......
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Submit RSS......
We've put together a list of rss submission tools and rss directories for you to submit your blogs to.
In our video Why Blog - The difference between blogs and websites - What is a blog? we talk about why blogs are better in some ways than web sites. One of the reasons is because you can submit rss feeds from your blog or your blog's main page to tons of web directories that wouldn't list your normal web site. In fact here is a list of over 70 places you can submit rss feeds from your blog too.
Each link opens in a new window so you don't loose your spot on our web site.
(PS. Bookmark this page by hitting, CTRL-D or CTRL-B)
Submit RSS Feeds to these Blog Directories
2Rss
About.com
All-Blogs.net
Answers
BOTW Blog Directory
Blawg
Blogcode
Blogarama
Blogbib
Blogbunch
BlogCatalog
Blogdigger
Blogflux
Bloggernity
Bloghop
Bloghub
Blogintro
Bloglisting
BlogMap
BlogOrama
BlogPulse
Blog-search
Bloguniverse
Blogz
Bloogz
BoingBoing
Bulletize
Diarist
Feed-Directory
Feeds4all
Feedage
FeedsFarm
FindingBlog
Findory
Geckotribe
GeekPhilisopher
Globeofblogs
Gobignetwork
iBlog Business Directory
Icerocket
Industry-blogs
LSBlogs
NewsXS
NewsGator
Only Feeds
Plazoo
Portal.eatonweb
Postami
Pressradar
Rateitall
ReadAblog
Redtram
RocketInfo
Search4Rss
Small Business Blog Directory
SmallBusiness.com
Sphere
SynBlog
Strategic Board
Syndic8
Tailrank
Technorati
Topix
TruthLaidBear
Wilsdomain
Yahoo.com
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Here are a few more to keep you out of the bars:
http://www.abotdirectory.com
http://www.easy-seek.com/
http://www.all-blogs.net/
http://www.blogarama.com/
http://www.googleplusyahoo.com/
Floyd Bogart
Sunday, November 04, 2007
How To Use Online Forums To Get Traffic And Sales
How To Use Online Forums To Get Traffic And Sales
I get many questions on how to promote Affiliate Programs without having to have lists, websites, pay per click search engines etc.
Example of question:
Is it possible at all to promote Affiliate Programs and earn money if I just started out and have nothing more then an internet browser and internet connection?
The answer to this question is… YES
Many web users frequently involve themselves in at least one online forum. Online forums are a great way to connect with others on a more personal level. Some forums are very informal and involve discussion on everyday issues, while others are more informational.
If you are trying to find free ways to advertise your affiliate link, using online forums to promote website traffic is a great idea. There are several ways you can use online forums to promote affiliate links. You should carefully consider the various different approaches and how you want yourself to be viewed before using a forum as a means of advertising.
The easiest way you can use an online forum to promote your affiliate link, is by simply adding a link to promoted website in your forum “signature”. Many forums allow each member to create a “signature” that is added to the bottom of each of their posts.
If you include your affiliate link to something for free, it is likely that others you chat with in the forums will become more familiar with the website name and probably even check it out. This is one of the most reserved ways to promote an affiliate link in online forums.
This is a great option for someone who does not want to be as pushy about the advertising aspect. You can be more natural with the ad delivery by using forums in this manner. You can even begin visiting forums that you usually don’t, just to get your “signature” out there more frequently across the web. Many blogs also allow comment sections where you can leave your affiliate link in your “signature”, so take advantage of these avenues as well.
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An Important Note:
Lately, many forums have banned affiliate links,
but will allow a url to a domain that you own.
So this would not be allowed:
http://www.secretsofelitemarketers.com/?15100
But this would:
http://floydbogart.com/SOEM.html
Even though both URLs go to the same site.
But for this to work, it is important that you
not just use a redirect but also to cloak that
affiliate link.
If you don't have an Affiliate Link Cloaker
feel free to use mine at no cost by Clicking Here
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You can also simply post advertisements into online forums. This is a more direct way of reaching those that read the forum. It is free indeed, however you need to be aware of a few things before using this approach.
First, some online forum moderators do not allow direct advertisements on their boards. They usually don’t do this to be mean or unreasonable; they do it to avoid the entire forum being filled with advertisements. It is possible that you may be able to sneak an advertisement in without being scolded, but it is better to follow the rules.
Another thing to consider when using direct advertisements in online forums is that the entire approach may seem a little pushy. Many people consider online forums as a place that is personal and free from annoying ads.
Therefore, they may not respond well to a direct advertisement as they may see it as being made by an intruder that is not part of the normal forum “family”. Being bold enough to go this route however will most definitely give your affiliate link more traffic, because some of the readers will be prompted to check out more information from your post.
When deciding to use online forums to promote affiliate link you need to consider what types of forums would be most appropriate for your posts. You can certainly use forums that you regularly comment within, even if they have nothing to do with your website.
People who are use to seeing your comments will likely respond warmly to your website just because they consider you familiar. In addition to your regular forums, consider searching for forums that have some sort of a link to the content on promoted website.
Overall, the more people you reach with your use of online forums to promote affiliate link, the more positive results you will see. Using forums are perfect for those on a tight budget who still want to promote their affiliate link.
Just be sure to consider forum rules and choose an appropriate approach before posting. You don’t want to ruin your promoted website’s reputation or even the reputation of yourself.
Floyd Bogart
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